Just over three million tonnes is the capacity expected in the Valencian Community for this 2015-2016 campaign.
Specifically, Valencian Agriculture Ministry estimates a figure of 3,052,252 tonnes. This number represents a 22.3% drop compared to the previous season. This important production fall off is attributed to the temperatures reached in May, June and July, which caused an important drop in the smaller fruits, particularly for the earlier varieties
A priori, the positive side of this situation could be a rise in the prices at source along with good sized fruit due to the rainfall in September for the varieties that have not been affected.
The most pronounced drop in mandarins occurs to the Marisol variety, which will record a 42% decrease compared to the previous season. The Arrufatina variety also drops by 33% and Satsumas by 22%. Regarding oranges, the variation compared to the previous year reaches 20%, with a volume that is around 1,493,540 tonnes, as opposed to the 1,874,069 tonnes from the previous campaign.
The surface area planted with citrus fruit has decreased in the main European producing region by 3,300 hectares and now covers 162,000 hectares. The largest impact has occurred in the province of Valencia, where there has been a crop change towards fruit with greater yield, such as persimmons and pomegranates. To this must also be added the fact that land has been abandoned due to a lack of transition from one generation to the next.
Regarding the sanctions affecting the Valencian Ministry due to possible deficiencies in the control of E.U. subsidies, the ministry itself has guaranteed that it will try to negotiate with Brussels to ensure the lowest amount possible is claimed.
